The Political Affiliation Demographics of the Student Body

There is little question that higher education within the United States is largely perceived as a liberal organ. Indeed, within both the professorate and the student body, the liberal demographic has maintained a steady and often dramatic majority. A modest liberalization effect has been found among students across the nation, and those within the social sciences have exhibited greater-than-average liberal-to-conservative ratios. Stemming from both stereotypes and general data, many politically conservative affiliates have trumpeted their political ideologues as the alienated, maligned, and even persecuted minority. From accusations of liberal indoctrination to the dismissal of opposing views, many conservatives have heatedly spoken against the nationwide institution of higher learning. Naturally, like-individuals associate with one another, and quite predictably, collegiate learning has revealed an at times compact conservative minority within specific colleges and universities, even to the point of reaching a prominent majority within these few institutions. It was hypothesized that Cedarville University, consistent with data from 2004, would reveal a strong conservative majority. While results upon polling were relatively consistent with this hypothesis, the demographic spread was unexpectedly consistent with results revealed in the 2004 original study. Moreover, the recent data revealed several statistically significant trends that prompted multiple hypotheses. A biannual survey is encouraged for future research in order to comprehensively examine the political affiliation trends of a unique student body

Low-Temperatures Vortex Dynamics in Twinned Superconductors

We discuss the low-temperature dynamics of magnetic flux lines in samples with a family of parallel twin planes. A current applied along the twin planes drives flux motion in the direction transverse to the planes and acts like an electric field applied to {\it one-dimensional} carriers in disordered semiconductors. As in flux arrays with columnar pins, there is a regime where the dynamics is dominated by superkink excitations that correspond to Mott variable range hopping (VRH) of carriers. In one dimension, however, rare events, such as large regions void of twin planes, can impede VRH and dominate transport in samples that are sufficiently long in the direction of flux motion. In short samples rare regions can be responsible for mesoscopic effects.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures email: [email protected]

Instanton effects and linear-chiral duality

We discuss duality between the linear and chiral dilaton formulations, in the presence of super-Yang-Mills instanton corrections to the effective action. In contrast to previous work on the subject, our approach appeals directly to explicit instanton calculations and does not rely on the introduction of an auxiliary Veneziano-Yankielowicz superfield. We discuss duality in the case of an axion that has a periodic scalar potential, and find that the bosonic fields of the dual linear multiplet have a modified interpretation. We note that symmetries of the axion potential manifest themselves as symmetries of the equations of motion for the linear multiplet. We also make some brief remarks regarding dilaton stabilization. We point out that corrections recently studied by Dijkgraaf and Vafa can be used to stabilize the axion in the case of a single super-Yang-Mills condensate.Comment: 1+18 pages, 1 figure, comments and references adde

Fair Value Hierarchy Measures: Post-Implementation Evidence on IFRS 7

Using a balance sheet valuation model, this study examines if information on the fair value hierarchy of on-balance sheet financial assets and financial liabilities are incorporated in the market’s valuation of companies’ equities in Singapore. The results of the study show significant associations between as-reported Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measures of financial assets and market values. However, the results are not significant for Level 3 fair value measures of financial assets and each of the three levels of fair value measures of financial liabilities. The results also show that returns are more positively associated with as-reported gains and losses from Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measures than those from Level 3 fair value measures. Overall, the evidence suggests that information on the fair value hierarchy of IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures are used by market participants in their pricing decisions. The market however appears to place greater weights on fair value changes taken to the income statement than those taken to OCI, notwithstanding the level of the fair value measure. While the fixation with income statement measures remains a puzzle, the results are consistent with prior studies that show that investors largely ignore OCI in their pricing of shares

Potential contributions of remote sensing to ecosystem service assessments

Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific underpinning to the modeling of ecosystem services (ESs) over space and time, by identifying the ecological processes and components of biodiversity (ecosystem service providers, functional traits) that drive ES supply. Despite this knowledge, efforts to map the distribution of ESs often rely on simple spatial surrogates that provide incomplete and non-mechanistic representations of the biophysical variables they are intended to proxy. However, alternative data sets are available that allow for more direct, spatially nuanced inputs to ES mapping efforts. Many spatially explicit, quantitative estimates of biophysical parameters are currently supported by remote sensing, with great relevance to ES mapping. Additional parameters that are not amenable to direct detection by remote sensing may be indirectly modeled with spatial environmental data layers. We review the capabilities of modern remote sensing for describing biodiversity, plant traits, vegetation condition, ecological processes, soil properties, and hydrological variables and highlight how these products may contribute to ES assessments. Because these products often provide more direct estimates of the ecological properties controlling ESs than the spatial proxies currently in use, they can support greater mechanistic realism in models of ESs. By drawing on the increasing range of remote sensing instruments and measurements, data sets appropriate to the estimation of a given ES can be selected or developed. In so doing, we anticipate rapid progress to the spatial characterization of ecosystem services, in turn supporting ecological conservation, management, and integrated land use planning

The Effect of Large Amplitude Fluctuations in the Ginzburg-Landau Phase Transition

The lattice Ginzburg-Landau model in d=3 and d=2 is simulated, for different values of the coherence length $\xi$ in units of the lattice spacing $a$, using a Monte Carlo method. The energy, specific heat, vortex density $v$, helicity modulus $\Gamma_\mu$ and mean square amplitude are measured to map the phase diagram on the plane $T-\xi$. When amplitude fluctuations, controlled by the parameter $\xi$, become large ($\xi \sim 1$) a proliferation of vortex excitations occurs changing the phase transition from continuous to first order.Comment: 4 pages, 5 postscript (eps) figure

Precision Electroweak Observables in the Minimal Moose Little Higgs Model

Little Higgs theories, in which the Higgs particle is realized as the pseudo-Goldstone boson of an approximate global chiral symmetry have generated much interest as possible alternatives to weak scale supersymmetry. In this paper we analyze precision electroweak observables in the Minimal Moose model and find that in order to be consistent with current experimental bounds, the gauge structure of this theory needs to be modified. We then look for viable regions of parameter space in the modified theory by calculating the various contributions to the S and T parameters.Comment: v2: 17 pages, 9 figures. Typeset in JHEP style. Added a references and two figures showing parameter space for each of two reference points. Corrected typo

Ultraviolet Fixed Points in Gauge and SUSY Field Theories in Extra Dimensions

We consider gauge field theories in $D>4$ following the Wilson RG approach and show that they possess the ultraviolet fixed points where the gauge coupling is dimensionless in any space-time dimension. At the fixed point the anomalous dimensions of the field and vertex operators are known exactly. These fixed points are nonperturbative and correspond to conformal invariant theories. The same phenomenon also happens in supersymmetric theories with the Yukawa type interactions.Comment: LaTeX, 10pp. v2: Comments and references adde

Superconducting Coherence and the Helicity Modulus in Vortex Line Models

We show how commonly used models for vortex lines in three dimensional superconductors can be modified to include k=0 excitations. We construct a formula for the k=0 helicity modulus in terms of fluctuations in the projected area of vortex loops. This gives a convenient criterion for the presence of superconducting coherence. We also present Monte Carlo simulations of a continuum vortex line model for the melting of the Abrikosov vortex lattice in pure YBCO.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 2 eps figures included using eps

Flux-line entanglement as the mechanism of melting transition in high-temperature superconductors in a magnetic field

The mechanism of the flux-line-lattice (FLL) melting in anisotropic high-T_c superconductors in ${\bf B}\parallel {\bf \hat{c}}$ is clarified by Monte Carlo simulations of the 3D frustrated XY model. The percentage of entangled flux lines abruptly changes at the melting temperature T_m, while no sharp change can be found in the number and size distribution of vortex loops around T_m. Therefore, the origin of this melting transition is the entanglement of flux lines. Scaling behaviors of physical quantities are consistent with the above mechanism of the FLL melting. The Lindemann number is also evaluated without any phenomenological arguments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 Postscript figures, RevTeX; changed content and figures, Phys. Rev. B Rapid Commun. in pres